Add a New Character page

A pretty wishing-well is tucked in a small group of berry-bushes. The well is built of uncut stones and mortar, with a roof made from hewn logs, and a wooden bucket hanging from a hemp rope. If you lean over the edge and shade your eyes, you can make out the shimmer of coins at the bottom of the well.

The sun has barely crept up over the horizon, yet kitchen workers never sleep. With the heat still pressing down on Western despite the nearness of autumn's end, the early hours are the best time for scratchy labor such as berry picking. Idris and Keelyra kneel among the berry bushes, two small baskets and four larger buckets spread between them. Idris finishes filling a basket and leans back to dump it into the bucket, wiping a sheen of sweat from her brow. "I love the way they taste now, and even more when it's baked into something… but shardit, do berries have to have thorns?"

As proof of how good the berries taste, Keelyra is probably eating one for every dozen she picks. It's a perk of being up so early and working in the kitchens. It's a surprise she's not fat… then again, she is still blessed with the metabolism of youth. A glance to Idris and she smirks a bit, "They did tell us we might want to grab gloves." She seems to have no care for the thorns, thrusting hands into the bushes to snatch — gently, so as not to squish them — up berries.

Jeyinshi wouldn't be a very good kitchen raider if she hadn't heard about the berry picking during her frequent trips to the kitchens. Or maybe Luna had just told her…The dolphineer turned candidate makes her ways to the berry bushes now, her footsteps light despite the early morning. Several baskets hang on her arms, a few from the kitchens and one rather peculiar looking basket with a tiny stuffed dolphin hanging on it. Catching sight of the familiar kitchen helpers, Jey walks on over, heels clicking on the paved path until she steps into the grass with them. "I like berries any way, as long as they're edible. But even more if you're making them into a pie Idris. But I do have gloves if you need some." Jey holds up the basket with the stuffed dolphin attached, showing a rather vast array of gloves.

Even at this unsavory hour, Kelthero is out and about. For once, he has no night duty, simply just a case of being unable to sleep. No doubt the crowds and excitement over the new clutch have the guard working extra shifts, so why he isn't sleeping when he has the chance is only for him to know. So it's off to his favorite escape spots within the Weyr, only something compels him down yet another path and thus is how he discovers Idris and Keelyra hard at work. The guard hovers a moment at the far end of the path, seeming uncertain in interrupting the two women, when Jeyinshi suddenly joins them as well. Even so, he approaches slowly, giving a curious glance to baskets and gloves as he does. "Didn't think berry picking started this early." He muses once he's within earshot.

"They always say it, I always forget. And then I always get cuts," Idris grumps as she settles beside the bush again. "Maybe I'm just a masochist or something." The sound of footsteps distracts her and she twists to see who has arrived, snagging her arm on a thorn in the process. There's no blood, but she still grumbles before greeting Jeyinshi with a half-smile. "You must be a mind reader, Jey. I'll take a pair," Idris leans back on her heels again and holds out a hand. Kelthero gets noticed as she's turned in that direction, and she has a grumbling chuckle for him. "Too early after late nights, but better than picking when the sun is high in the sky."

"Plus," Keelyra follows up Idris' explanation as to why they're out so early, "I have a long day ahead of me. Best to get this out of the way early." And fill her belly at that. A couple more berries are popped in the girls mouth as she looks towards Jeyinshi. A heartbeat later she swallows and beams at the dolphineer. "Gloves would be great. Then I won't worry about any fruit or vegetable juices getting into cuts later."

Jeyinshi was smiling before, but she brightens slightly at the sound of a familiar voice. She turns then walking a few steps to sort of slide into a position beside the guard before shrugging at the baskets. "I don't know when it usually is, I just showed up. Partly because of chores, mostly because of food." That /would/ be the reason of course. After a few moments, she turns back to Idris, chuckling. "Of course I'm a mind reader. Besides, I gotta take care of your hands. Where else am I going to get food if you can't cook?" The candidate winks at her friend before taking a pair of bright, hot pink gloves out of the basket with one hand and a pair of sunny, neon orange gloves with her other hand. On the right outfit, they worked great for the fashionista. Now? Not so much. "Take your pick ladies. And no, we don't want any cuts infected that way Keely."

Flinching a little when Idris' snags herself again, Kelthero smirks a little. "Good point. Nothing worse then being baked by the sun while working." The guard admits with a slight nod of his head towards the baker. He quirks a brow up at Keelyra, no doubt more over her eating the berries then her comment. Suddenly, Jeyinshi is by his side and Kelthero's tired expression changes completely for a moment and he smiles widely. "I'd say it's only because of the food." He teases her, before giving the obnoxiously colored gloves a wary look. Good Faranth, those are bright. The guard then yawns slightly, having to give himself a bit of a shake to snap back to attention. "Would the juice infect or would it just sting something awful?" he asks in general and in a somewhat idle tone.

"Don't eat /too/ many, Keely," Idris admonishes though with a hint of humor, noticing all the berries the younger girl is eating, "There aren't going to be any more to pick soon!" She's one to talk- every so often she'll nab one for herself- to test for pie potency, of course! The gloves are given a winning grin. "Orange for me, please!" She reaches for the gloves and before putting them on, wipes her hands on her apron so they won't get stained inside. Kelthero is given a considering look. "Just a nasty sting… no infection from these berries, anyway. They wouldn't make very good food if they infected skin!"

And her punishment for eating berries? Pink gloves. Keelyra looks positively apalled, but quickly schools the look away as she nabs the gloves and tugs them on. "A lot of things will sting when they get into cuts, no matter how big the cut is. It's just 'cause the skin is tender, I guess. But some fruits, oh… they hurt a lot." She glances sidelong at Idris. "You still haven't promised me a pie, so I have to get my fill of berries just in case!" It's… a valid excuse, right? In her mind, at least.

Jeyinshi smirks and gives the guard a hip check, "Shhh, that's a secret." She peeks into her basket then, before looking back up with a grin, "You want to help? I've two more pairs of gloves." And neither of them normal. Jey is quick to hand over the orange ones to Idris before stepping over to crouch down beside her and pulling out a pair of electric blue gloves and an almost equally vibrant green pair. A small chuckle escapes the candidate's lips and she grins at Keely, "You can switch colors if you really want. But yes, stings a lot, the berries won't give you an infection, but other things out here might if you aren't careful." Jey reaches a hand out, deftly picking a few berries and placing them in the basket…while her other hand snags another and pops it into her mouth. Hey, she can multi-task!

"I thought so." Kelthero replies to Idris, sounding slightly smug until he chuckles. He then wrinkles his nose. "I've had the unfortunate run in with some of the less friendly plant life around these parts. Never thought fruits would be in the list." And then suddenly he's hip checked and stumbling a little to the side in order to regain his balance. He looks ready to playfully retaliate, but thinks better of it. Instead, he simply grins crookedly at Jeyinshi. "You sure you three want my help? I may be tempted to snack as well." His look to all three of them, then the baskets, yet doesn't quite move in to help yet. Perhaps the guard is still trying to evade work? Who knows."

"Oh, fine, just be sure you're in the kitchen when they come out of the oven!" Idris snorts at Keelyra, though her expression is lightening. She peers at Jeyinshi's gloves, "You didn't say you had /green/ gloves!" She eyeballs the green ones. "You have to say these things!" But she's already got the orange pair on and berry stained from plucking a handful of berries. "Anyway, just don't smoosh anything here. You can help, and snack… but we need those two buckets completely full before we return to the kitchens." They are presently both about a quarter of the way there.

A quarter plus some, as Keelyra dumps her basket into a bucket. The girl peeks through the foliage of the bushes where she sits on her knees, before deciding it's empty enough. She gets up, moves a few feets down, and settles in to go back to picking the berries. Now that she has the promise of pie, she's snacking on far fewer.

Jeyinshi laughs, "Mmm, are you too tired, too unsure, or just too unwilling to wear such garish gloves?" The dolphineer's tone is mildly teasing, but then she turns back to picking berries, stopping ever few moments to snack on a few. It's a miracle any manage to make it into the basket at all. Jey stops suddenly, looking down and realizing she hasn't actually put on a pair yet. "Hmm, well how about you give me the orange and take the green? I just need /something/ on my hands, dirty or not." Jey also adds the contents of her basket to the pile while waiting for an answer, making it a quarter, plus some, plus some more.

Kelthero begins to chuckle again. "Okay, I can curb the snacking but I /definitely/ cannot promise I won't squish some." He says while glancing over to Idris, flexing his hands a little. "My hands are more tailored to wielding weapons and heavier work. Delicate stuff like this is tough." By the tone of his voice, he sounds like he's teasing but his expression seems serious. In the end, he's being his usual jokester self as he laughs at Jeyinshi. "All of the above." He fires back before joining her and the other two women by the berry bushes. Glancing down at his own bare hands, the guard then looks up to Jeyinshi, smirking. "If you take the orange and Idris the green, what does that leave for me? Or do I have to be all manly about it and go without?"

Idris doesn't need to hear the suggestion twice, pulling her gloves off and reaching back over to Jeyinshi to switch to green. Yay favorite colors! Any grumpiness she was displaying earlier is faded by now, as she slips on the pretty green gloves. "Well if Keelyra switches to blue or takes orange, that leaves you with pink!" Idris grins at Kelthero as she returns to picking, then realizes her basket is full. She jumps up to dump it into the bucket and moves down the bushes to find a promising bush.

Jeyinshi raises an eyebrow at the serious expression, simply gazing for a few seconds before snickering at Idris' words. "Ohh, Kelth, I think pink would work perfectly for you. Very manly color." The dolphineer lets out a small chuckle before picking up the orange gloves and making further headway on her chosen bush. She drags her basket along with her, throwing a handful of berries in every now and then. In the middle of one of her picking sprees, a finger suddenly catches on the thorns and the candidate lets out a small yelp, and begins sucking on it. There doesn't seem to be blood, Jey seems to be proving that working without without gloves isn't exactly ideal.

Kelthero looks as though he's regretting his last words as Idris' mentions pink. "I'll go without, if that's the case." He sniffs, as if offended. Over his dead body will he wear pink! Crouching down by a promising spot (and most likely close to Jeyinshi), the guard carefully reaches in and begins to pluck a few berries, being careful not to pulverize them as he does. It takes a moment, but Kelthero eventually sets up a decent pace and only a few are bruised - though they are generally eaten and not placed in a basket. Jeyinshi's further teasing over the glove color earns her a snort. "I am not wearing pink." He replies with a crooked grin. "No matter how manly it may have suddenly become, which I highly doubt." When Jeyinshi yelps, the guard looks over in alarm. "You catch yourself?" he asks, leaving the "again" unsaid, though his expression probably betrays him.

"You know, it's a secure man who can wear pink," Idris points out as she settles down to resume a steady picking pace. "Guess you're not secure enough?" she adds, tone all too innocent and expression all too teasing. Jeyinshi's yelp is met with a grin, "I always do that… that's why gloves are necessary for these berries." The gloves are proving to be most helpful, though they can't protect against thorns scrapping the arms, as evidenced by the criss-crossing tiny welts along Idris's arms.

Jeyinshi makes a face at the guard, "Yes. I'm obviously cut out for work in the ocean, not gardens or construction areas." At least it's a different finger this time. But the candidate has learned her lesson and she finally puts on the orange gloves she'd picked up earlier. What's the use of carrying them if she didn't use them? Jey shrugs it off then, instead turning her attention to Idris' teasing and lets out a small chuckle. "Mmm, you're not secure Kelth? That's a shame." Idris certainly seemed to bring out the more devlish side of the dolphineer. Berry picking is resumed then, a steady pace beginning to work itself out, it probably wouldn't take long for her to fill another bucket.

Idris' comment certainly hits its mark and the guard is suddenly sporting a bit of a red tinge along his neck and cheeks. "Of course I'm secure!" he mutters, still being stubborn over the idea of pink gloves. "It's… just a personal preference! Like a favorite color." He points out with a grin as he glances to the very gloves Idris wears. Jeyinshi's teasing remark earns a bit of a frustrated but amused sigh from the guard. "Fine, /fine/! If I wear the pink gloves will you /both/ be satisfied?" He then shakes his head, before getting back to the task at hand - still sans gloves. If he can put it off just a wee bit longer, he'll be a happy guard.

"He can wear the blue," Keelyra says, glancing down the line towards the three. She blinks, owlishly. "I don't /like/ pink, but they /are/ just gloves." Now that she's behaving with the nomming, her basket fills much quicker. It's clear the girl has done this task often, for it's not long before she's dumping another basket into the buckets. Nor are there notable pricks now that she's wearing gloves; just little scratches that don't get through the cloth.

And the dolphineer definitely brings out the devlish side of Idris, who is smirking at the guard's discomfort. Having filled another basket, the baker hops up to tumble the contents of into a bucket. "Way to be all wise, Keely," is said loftily, "Anyway, at least he agreed, right Jey?" The baker grins as she returns to the bushes, this time carrying one of the buckets closer to where they are now picking.

Nevermind that it was more the brightness of the pink than the pink itself. Doesn't Jey know the meaning of moderation?

Jeyinshi snickers, "We might be appeased for just a bit. But you've got to put those on quickly Kelth. Our image of you is deteriorating with every second those aren't worn." Moderation? What's that? She gets up then, carrying her filled basket and dumping it in the larger one before moving over to crouch next to Idris and eyeing both Keely and Kelth with a teasing grin. "Aww Idris, they're being sticks in the mud. But yes he did agree at least."

Kelthero relaxes a little when Keelyra speaks up - perfect timing! The guard quickly tries jumps in with his reply to claim the blue pair, but not fast enough it would seem. "Shells." He mutters under his breath, gaze turning back to his work. Finally, he fills a basket and promptly empties it into a bucket. Despite his care to avoid the worst of the thorns, the guard's hands do show some light scratches. He continues to work without gloves though and without complaint. That is, until Jeyinshi teases him again. Giving the candidate a dark look that's totally ruined by a hint of a smile, the guard leans back on his heels a little. "Can't /wear/ 'em if they're already being used." He replies in a snarky tone.

"I'm no stick! I just think bright colors are kind of…" Keelyra holds up her hands and squints at them. "Painful to look at." She fills another basket and hefts it on over to the bucket, dumping it in. As she's about to retake her seat, one of the rather younger weyrbrats comes up, breathless. "They need ya in the kitchens. Something 'bout a spill." Keely groans and sets the basket down, removing her gloves. "I bet Annir didn't watch where he was going again." She smiles sheepishly to the others. "Gotta go."

"They sure are," Idris nods conspiratorily to Jeyinshi. "Wonder how we can get'em worse?" she adds, much more quietly. "Thank you for helping us, by the by," she beams at Kelthero magnanimously. "You're so wonderful at picking berries!" There's something mischievous about her expression, which is interrupted when the weyrbrat runs up. There's afrown, and when Keely heads off, Idris calls out, "You check my station!"

Keely's sudden departure is met with a small frown, aww, and the fun had just started. "Don't overwork yourself Keely!" A wave is sent after the girl before eyes zero in on the bright pink gloves, but the tone of Idris' voice draws attention towards the kitchen helper and away from them. There's a quick, almost imperceptible wink shot in the girl's direction before the dolphineer turns back to Kelther with a cheeky grin. "You're really amazing Kelth. I mean, getting your hands scraped up just to help us out! And /such/ a natural at it."

Kelthero's only hope of not wearing those gloves evaporates the moment Keelyra takes them off and leaves for the kitchens. He gives a brief wave to her before reluctantly going back to picking berries. Idris' is given a slightly crooked smile. "Be rude of me if I just sat here and watched you three work." He admits, although he's probably wishing the glove issue never came to be. Jeyinshi's comment earns her a wary look from the guard, a brow quirking up. "Uh-huh." He drawls, frowning now, uncertain. Something isn't right here, but the guard isn't quite putting two and two together. Slow guard is slow. "Somehow I don't quite believe that." He mumbles, smirking a little towards the candidate. The look between Idris' and Jeyinshi is missed, but that doesn't stop him from glancing between the two women before he shakes his head and focuses back on picking berries.

"You'd /never/ be rude, now would you- you're far too honorable," Idris continues in much the same tone, though her gaze, too, is drawn to the pink gloves and she gets That Grin. "Now /look/ at that! Pink gloves, already broken in and ready, just for you- Keely is such an accomodating girl, isn't she?" Idris continues to pick berries, her movement nonchalant even as her voice and expression are full of mischief.

Jeyinshi laughs and picks up the gloves before striding over to sit down next to the guard, waving them at him gently. "C'mon Kelth. I'd be really impressed if you wore the gloves. You would be number one on my list then." What list? And who was ahead of him? The dolphineer grins a bit before picking a handful of berries and tossing them lightly into Kelth's basket. Lots of teasing, no slacking.

Kelthero laughs sharply. "Honorable?" he says, side glancing over to Idris as he does. "Maybe. But I'm not rude because I happen to enjoy having friends." The guard may not be rude today but he's a least being honest. He's about to go back to picking, only to have those blasted pink gloves waved at him by Jeyinshi. Kelthero gives another frustrated grumble, not reaching for them. What list indeed - that seems to have the guard's attention more then the pink gloves. "Would this list be of people to torment?" he snaps, before taking a deep breath and reaching out to snatch the gloves from the candidate before she can pull them away. "I said I'd do it, I'll do it." He grumbles, before reigning in his mood and smirking a little. "You two are just loving this, aren't you?" And then he chuckles dryly.

"I suppose that's a good enough reason to be polite," Idris nods, expression a little more serious, an eye twinging a little while she's addressing Kelthero. So maybe she does remember being tactless and well, rude, in front of him. She looks away, back to the berries. Moving on! "Oh, definitely loving this- I always love a good tease!" Her basket is full, so she hops up and dumps it in the nearest bucket. "Hey, this one's full- looks like there's not much more to go in the other!" There's a grin and, "Since Keely got called away, would one of you help carry the buckets down to the kitchen, please?"

Jeyinshi watches as the gloves get snatched away, perhaps slightly impressed that he's taking it so seriously. Of course, he /is/ taking it seriously and the dolphineer can't help but to feel slightly guilty. "Perhaps it's a list of that…or something else. But I am loving it." Then, in a quick, darting movement, the candidate leans closer to the guard and unless he's quick enough to move, she brushes her lips against his cheek in a light kiss before hopping up and striding over towards the buckets. She shoots a smile over her shoulder as she walks and gathers a few baskets along the way before stopping in front of Idris. "Course I'll help you carry them! Lead the way."

Kelthero remembers that time in the tunnels well enough, but he doesn't point it out or bring it up. Not today, anyways. Instead, he simply rolls his eyes a little. "I figured! You two are dangerous together." He mutters teasingly, a grin returning to his features for a moment. Yes, he is taking it seriously - but the guard is tired and not being as cautious this early morning. So he all too easily fell into the trap. "Oh? And you're never going to tell me this lis…" he's about to fire off another teasing remark to Jeyinshi, only to be silenced by the sudden light kiss. It takes a moment for Kelthero to recover, but by the time he does, the candidate is already well away and helping Idris' with the buckets. Once the shock wears off though, the guard gives a slight cough and slowly gets to his feet to join them in gathering everything together, gloves, baskets and buckets a like.